Canddidii Forcslri/ Jouiiud, Maij, 1U17 



1 ()<S9 



Scientific Investigation and the Forest 



While Other Nations Forge Ahead in Research Work in Living 

 Forests Canada Pays Small Heed 



The forests of Canada are one of 

 its leading natural resources and like 

 forests everywhere are, as living 

 bodies, subject to laws of develop- 

 ment that can be ascertained by care- 

 ful study. The growth and produc- 

 tion of the forest are affected by con- 

 ditions of soil, moisture, air and light, 

 by the relations between species and 

 their adaptability to differing con- 

 ditions, by destructive agencies such 

 as fire, insects, fungi, etc. While the 

 forests are subject to and often suc- 

 cumb to destructive agencies, on the 

 other hand they are capable of re- 

 production and development. They 

 may be perpetuated for all future 

 time and their production and value 

 can be increased by proper manage- 

 ment. The conditions of forest growth 

 are therefore a subject for thorough 

 scientific study. 



Principles of Management 

 Every country which has come to 

 the point where it felt the need of 

 managing its forests for better pro- 

 duction has seen almost immediately 

 as a necessary consequence that spec- 

 ial provision must be made for 

 scientific study of the forest to de- 

 termine the principles of management 

 that must be followed. Russia, 

 Sweden, Germany, Austria, France, 

 Switzerland, British India, the United 

 States of America, have all organized 

 specially for such investigations. 



Russia presents perhaps the near- 

 est comparison to Canada in extent, 

 climatic conditions, forest area, etc., 

 but in the general conception of the 

 public is not considered as a pro- 

 gressive country. Russia has how- 

 ever for many years had established 

 a system and organization for the 

 scientific study of its forests and the 

 reports published by the institutions 

 established for this purpose are 

 among the most suggestive and valu- 

 able of any reports issued by the 

 'forest service of any country. The 

 central organization for forest in- 



vestigation is the Imperial Forest 

 Institute at Petrograd which was 

 founded 110 years ago at the same 

 time that the Russian Department 

 of Forestry was established. This 

 institute, like most European in- 

 stitutions of higher learning, is a 

 school for training foresters as well as 

 carrying on research work. In 1915 

 there were employed fifty-four pro- 

 fessors and instructors and the num- 

 ber of students Was 648. The in- 

 stitute comprises twenty-three build- 

 ings, thirteen laboratories and mus- 

 eums and a splendidly equipped den- 

 drological garden. The appropriation 

 for the year was $119,000. The 

 results of investigations made at the 

 Institute are published in its trans- 

 actions which have now reached to 

 twenty-five volumes in number. 

 These include various papers on the 

 effect of climate on forests and forest 

 reproduction, the forest types in 

 Russia, the technical qualities of the 

 woods, etc. Forest investigations are 

 carried on at other forest schools, 

 especially at Novo-Alexandrovsk, 

 near Warsaw, and at the Riga Poly- 

 technicum. 



Twelve Experiment Stations 

 There are also twelve Forest Ex- 

 periment Stations in Russia, the total 

 annual appropriation for which is 

 about $60,000, where special field 

 investigations in the planting and 

 propagating of the forests is carried 

 on. The results are published irre- 

 gularly as material accumulates. 



At the central office of the Forest 

 Department at Petrograd there is a 

 special committee on Experimental 

 Research Work, the chairman of 

 which is directly responsible to the 

 Director of the Forest Department. 

 Every year, usually in February, there 

 is a meeting of the Central Committee 

 for investigative work held in Petro- 

 grad which is attended by all the 

 Superintendents and assistants from 

 the experimental stations. To the se 



